Daddy
by RedHal
Summary: Got the idea from Willowed Moon's 'Daddy, I mean Danny'.  Dani's back in Amity and, partically due to a fever, slips up when talking to Danny.  And it's not helping that she's at a vulnerable age where without a parent, there's a risk of a Dark Dani.
1. Dani

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

Summary: I got this idea from Willowed Moon's "Daddy, I mean Danny." Danielle is starting to question her 'cousin' relationship with Danny not knowing that Danny feels something very similar. So, when Fate brings the two back together just in time for Christmas, and a small fever gets Dani to accidentally say something, Danny uses a bit of his fame to get Dani one of the greatest gifts ever: a family. Will Dani accept Danny's gift to her in the long run as she truly is the clone of Danny Phantom and something is making itself known to the young girl. (Hint: Episode 27)

_**Daddy**_

**Chapter 1: Dani**

Six month old Danielle "Dani" Phantom (though she looked and acted 12 years old), was now in New York at Rockefeller Square. It was Christmas time (Christmas Eve Morning to be exact) and this was going to be her first one.

However, she didn't particularly care much for the holidays. Mainly due to the fact that she was a clone and her original had JUST started liking the holidays (because it meant a day off from his ghost hunting job due to the truce).

She landed and transformed into Danielle the human. She had ceased calling herself Danielle Fenton due to the fact that the ONLY reason she was a Fenton was because she was the clone of one. And she REFUSED to call herself Danielle Masters. Especially after the last thing her 'father' had said to her when she still thought of Vlad as a father-figure

"_you exist only to serve me" _

"Daddy!"

Danielle turned and saw a five year old girl running into the arms of a man and hugged him.

"Daddy! You came!" the little blond exclaimed as the mother came running to join her family

"Of course I came. It's Christmas" the father said with a loving smile

Danielle felt tears enter her eyes as she recognized the way the daughter was hugging her father. It was the same way she had hugged Danny after he saved her three months ago.

Suddenly, there was a "HELP!"

Danielle went running and saw a young boy swimming in the ice while a man in a police uniform was rushing out of his car to go help the boy

"SAMUEL!" the man exclaimed indicating that he knew the boy

"DAD!" Samuel tried to exclaim

Danielle then dove into the water and swam over to the boy and kept his head above water while the boy's father ran up to help them out of the water.

Danielle was pulled up coughing as she had swallowed some of the water. Truthfully, she had felt a cold coming on a while ago, but ignored it. Now it was coming full force

0000

A few minutes later,

Danielle was wrapped up and sitting on the couch, fever in her eyes as she shivered.

"You poor thing" Samuel's mother said as she put another blanket over Danielle "Where are you parents?"

Danielle started to answer semi-truthfully that she didn't HAVE any, but she stopped herself. TECHNICALLY she had a father.

But for some reason, Vlad's image didn't appear in her mind.

She did want a parent's touch now, but her own. But she had no mother.

"What's your Daddy's name?" Samuel's mother asked

Danielle had no idea what prompted her to say this, but the name just rolled off her tongue

"D-D-Danny" she whispered.


	2. Danny

**Chapter 2: Danny**

A few minutes later (or hours earlier when you figure in the time change)

15 year old Danny Fenton was putting the final touches on some Christmas presents while in the kitchen his parents were arguing about the existence of Santa...again

"Hey Danny. What are you doing?" Jazz asked her brother

"Finishing up Christmas presents" Danny said. "Mom's getting a sample of ectoplasm"

"Lovely" Jazz said making a face remembering the sample Danny asked her to get from him during a Team Phantom meeting.

"Not any ordinary ectoplasm. Danny Phantom ectoplasm"

"Deciding to finally hint?" she asked looking a bit proud

"Yeah. I figured another hint was overdue as if my looks, voice, and slip-ups aren't enough" Danny said

"Aren't you scared they'll hear us?" she asked

"HE DOES!"

"HE DOESN'T!"

"Stupid question" she stated

RING RING

"SANTA DOES EXIST!" Jack yelled into the phone. "Sorry….Danny? Sure. Hold on. DANNY! PHONE!"

Danny went to the phone and took it from his Dad.

"Hello? This is Danny."

"_Mr. Fenton. This is Chris Knight from the New York City police department"_

"Can I help you with anything?" Danny asked figuring that his changing voice was making him sound a bit older

"_We have your daughter over here" _

Danny was about to repeat the man in shock but two things stopped him: the fact his parents were in the room with him (though they had gone back to arguing) and the fact that the man sounded sincere.

"Is she okay?" Danny asked

"_She's fine. Just seems a little confused. Would you like us to keep her here and you come get her tomorrow or…?"_

"Don't bother. Just tell her to come home"

"_To Amity Park?" _

"Get her on a plane. I'll handle the finances and the tickets" Danny said making sure his parents weren't listening

"_You're sure? She's caught a rather bad cold" _

"I can't leave here, but I want her here." Danny said though technically he didn't have a CLUE as to what was going on. "Tell her I'll meet her at the airport"

Danny hung up wondering who the heck was posing as a 15 year old's daughter. Could his real daughter from the future have gotten lost in the time stream?

He pulled out his cell phone and pressed a speed-dial button. "Tucker. I know it's Christmas, but I need yours and Sam's help. I just got a REALLY weird phone call"

0000

Back in New York,

Dani was worried. Chris wasn't taking his eyes off of her so she wasn't able to go-ghost. And the fact that Danny was being true to what Chris had said Danny had said he'd do, she wasn't sure what Danny had in mind.

Did he think she was a time traveler? Did he want to know who was posing as his child?...

Did he even know it was her?

At the Amity Park airport,

Danny was pacing. He and Jazz had snuck out of the house to see who his 'daughter' was. Of course, Danny had dropped by Clockwork's to find out beforehand. The only hint that smirking know-it-all Master of Time said that she wasn't a time traveler.

"Why would someone claim that a 15 year old geek from Amity Park was her father?" Danny asked Jazz

"Maybe she panicked" Jazz suggested

"What kind of a girl would panic about the name and location of her father?" Danny asked

"Maybe she's an orphan and didn't want to go to an orphanage or even to Foster Care. Or maybe her real father is abusive" Jazz said "So she just picked a random name. Probably heard of Phantom and thought that a ghost for a father would be better"

At the suggestion of an abusive father, Danny froze as a memory of a female version of himself was strapped to a vertical table and melting into green ecto-goo

Danny plopped down in a chair stunned and ignoring his sister's tries to grab his attention when he didn't retort to the crack

He thought back to the past two meetings he had with his clone. Even though he had told others that she was only his third cousin, he had thought of her like a sister.

But WAS it like a sibling relationship? Danny turned to his highly confused sister and tried to imagine her had he not saved her from Spectra though he tried

Something was wrong. The feeling wasn't NEARLY as strong as his feeling was when he thought he had been too late to save Dani

"Jazz. You're a psychologist in training." Danny said . "What's a stronger bond between two siblings?"

"Depends on the siblings…"

"I meant what is the STRONGEST bond of all?" Danny asked

"A bond between a parent and a child. Why?" Jazz answered

"Jazz?" he asked "TECHNICALLY what is a father?"

"Well, there are two ways you can look at it. One from a biological point of view which would be the male contributor of D.N.A. to a child. Two, from a psychological point of view which would be a male figure in a child's life who takes responsibility for the child. Don't know why the poor kid picked you of all people in Amity"

"Oh my goodness…I fit both" Danny muttered

"What girl have YOU knocked up?" Jazz asked

"No one, Jazz" Danny told her. "Just…I think the girl we're waiting for might be Danielle"

"You're clone?" Jazz asked before taking the situation into consideration at this new intel. "I guess this would make sense"

"Jazz. What do I do?" Danny asked. "She probably just told the guy my name because it was the first that popped up as if it was Vlad, she'd be sent back to him and goodness knows what would happen. But… I think I DO think of myself as her father"

"We'll figure something out Danny. Let's make sure this girl IS you're clone"

Suddenly, the plane from New York pulled in and the people started leaving the terminal. Danny examined everyone coming from the Big Apple, praying that one was Danielle.

Sure enough,

"Looks like Chris wasn't joking about that cold" Danny mused at the sight of the short 12 year old looking six month old

He turned himself invisible while whispering instructions to Jazz.

"Excuse me, Dani?" Jazz asked

"W-W-Where's Danny?" Danielle asked

"He wanted to do this where there won't be any witnesses" Jazz explained

The two Fenton girls and the ghost boy left the airport and got into Jazz's jeep.

Before Danny was able to turn visible, Danielle fell asleep

"She's awfully warm" Danny said

"Let's get her home" Jazz suggested


	3. The Slip

_A/N: Before I create any confusion, in this story, Danny never really got around to explaining to Sam and Tucker that Dani's not REALLY a cousin because he was too busy constantly thanking them for saving him during Dani's first appearance and they bolted on him during the second._

**Chapter 3: The Slip**

Luckily the two Fenton kids were able to sneak the clone into the house grateful for the first time of their parents' annual argument. Danny placed the girl on his bed as she coughed

Meanwhile, Dani wasn't REALLY asleep. She was just having her eyes closed so that she could think some more, though the fever wasn't helping.

Why would Danny want to wait for no witnesses? Was he mad she called him her father to that family? Why HAD she done that? VLAD was technically her father.

Right?

He DID make her.

But with Danny's D.N.A. And wasn't part of being a father sharing D.N.A?

And Danny certainly cared more for her than Vlad ever did. Even after she betrayed him when they first met.

She smiled a bit at that memory. She had snuck into his room and started reading his comics. Suddenly, Danny came walking in talking on his cell phone and froze at the sight of someone in his room

"_Can I help you?" _he had asked her before directing his attention to the phone _"Not you!" _

It was hard to imagine at that time he would soon use his most powerful attack to protect her.

Then her mind turned to their LAST meeting. When she had LITTERALLY flown into him while looking for him to see if he could help her. The look of protectiveness he kept giving her…it made her feel that she was safe. And when Valerie betrayed her, it felt almost like when Danny had tried to run back when she thought Vlad was helping her. But Valerie's betrayal felt…worse. Luckily, the ghost huntress redeemed herself by distracting Plasmius while Danny saved the ghost girl.

Come to think of it, the look on Danny's face before realizing that she was safe…looking back, it was almost heartbreaking.

Almost like a parent loosing his child…

_NO Danielle!_ A voice in Dani's head stated _Danny doesn't think of you like that! You're just his clone! You can't think of him like your Dad!_

Suddenly, cold relief touched her face

"That's ONE way to make a cold compress." Jazz's voice came

"Jazz. Go keep Mom and Dad busy"an annoyed though familiar voice came

_Oh great. He's annoyed._ A part of Dani thought

_But he was talking to his SISTER. It's her JOB to annoy him._ Another voice in Dani's head said _Did you ever think that MAYBE HE WOULDN'T MIND being your father? He'd certainly do a better job than Vlad._

_But he's not that much older than you. And…he wouldn't want you. You're a clone to him. _

_That's not what he said to Vlad_

_He was just getting Vlad riled up. Part of the reason of banter: make the enemy so pissed off, he'd make a mistake_

While Dani was having a mental argument with herself,

Danny was trying to keep Danielle's body warm and cool down that fever with his ice powers wondering how she had gotten so sick as he didn't know about her little dip in the frozen lake to save a boy.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Who is it?" Danny asked

The door opened to reveal Sam and Tucker

"Did your cousin get here?" Tucker asked before getting his question answered "Wow, she doesn't look so good"

"Will she be okay?" Sam asked Danny

"I'm sure physically yes." Danny answered

"Physically?" the two friends asked

Danny wasn't so sure how he was going to tell his friends this news. After all, to them, she was still his cousin. He didn't want to freak them out so much by revealing that she was his clone.

Besides, would Danielle WANT a teenage father?

"I brought up some soup" Jazz said as she came in. "I just sent Mom and Dad on a wild ghost chase"

"Don't you mean 'wild goose'?" Sam asked

"Not with our parents" Danny and Jazz chorused

"But…what about the Christmas truce?" Tucker asked

"What Mom and Dad don't know can't hurt" Danny said turning back to his clone and sighed. "Guys…you two should know the truth about Dani."

"So she's NOT you're cousin?" Tucker asked

"I thought it seemed weird" Sam stated

Danny pointed to his computer.

"Password's: _Vladsafrootloop_" he said once they got to Dani's file only to have a password box appear

"Too true" Jazz agreed

Back with Danielle,

Danielle was listening to two very good arguments on whether or not to consider Danny a father. Now the two voices were arguing with each other on what to call Danny

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny"_

"_Daddy"_

"_Danny" _

"_Da-" _

Deciding that maybe facing the music will shut those annoying voices up, Danielle, despite her fever, opened her ice blue eyes only to look straight into a pair of the same color eyes as hers

Due to the fever, her mouth moved to the voice in her head that had been speaking at the moment

"Daddy" she whispered


	4. A Plan?

Last time,

_Deciding that maybe facing the music will shut those annoying voices up, Danielle, despite her fever, opened her ice blue eyes only to look straight into a pair of the same color eyes as hers_

_Due to the fever, her mouth moved to the voice in her head that had been speaking at the moment_

"_Daddy" she whispered_

**Chapter 4: A Plan?**

As Sam and Tucker had just hit the LOGIN button and didn't know the story, they both turned, mouths gaping open, wondering if they heard her right

Hearing the gasps, Dani turned to Danny's friends and realized she had said that out loud.

"Just read the file" Danny's voice came

Dani turned to her original looking scared that she had crossed the line. However, instead of anger and resentment, she saw a hint of relief, a lot of worry, but above all other emotions was one she had never seen before directed at her, but had seen it before.

It was the look Vlad gave the prime clone. The look Chris gave Samuel. The look Jack gave Danny and Jazz

Both halfas seemed scared to make the first move

"Wow. Vlad IS a froot-loop if he's gone into the cloning business." Tucker said breaking the silence.

"Sam. Tucker. Can I have a word with you?" Jazz asked motioning the two out of the room to give the two halfas some needed privacy as she was getting an idea.

Once the room was empty of full humans

"I'm sorry" Dani apologized as she took the soup and drank it

"For what?" Danny asked

"For interrupting your Christmas" she listed. "For pulling you into my mess"

"I don't mind all that Dani" Danny told her "You're family"

"Yeah" she said with a sigh. "Cousins"

Danny also sighed. It was OBVIOUS that she wanted something else

"Danielle." Danny told her when she finished the soup indicating that she had been HUNGRY. "I know we've been telling people we're cousins, but…I think we BOTH know that it goes deeper. Especially by what you just now called me"

Dani winced. She had hoped that it just sounded like an off pronunciation of 'Danny'

"But we'll discuss this when you're feeling better." Danny added "Right now, just get some sleep"

"Okay" she said before closing her eyes. ANYTHING to stall that conversation

Danny tucked her into his bed and left the room

"Psst. Danny" Sam whispered

Danny went into Jazz's room where his friends were waiting with his sister.

"What?" he asked

"Jazz was just filling us in on what REALLY happened with her." Sam said. "And we think we may have a solution, but it's completely up to you"

"I'm listening" Danny said sounding intrigued.

Tucker, who was sitting at Jazz's computer motioned his friend over. Danny walked over and looked at the screen and his mouth dropped.

"Like HE'S going to see ME?"

"Danny Fenton, no. But…" Tucker explained as he typed in a few little things.

"You're KIDDING!" Danny laughed when something popped up

"Why do you think he renounced the anti-ghost laws?" Sam asked "And while you're at it, see if you can't do something about test labs"

"However, there IS a risk" Jazz said. "But these risks will come with the territory of harboring Danielle."

"What?" Danny asked

"Our 'esteem' mayor and our parents" Jazz listed

"We figured that by going this far, that'll take care of the mayor. And if he tries something, we can always turn to biology. Since she has YOUR D.N.A. any court will figure that she's yours despite the fact that you would have had to be 2 or 3 when she was born if we kept up the act that she's…born of natural causes" Sam explained

"So, if Vlad WANTS her, he'd have to fess up to illegal cloning" Tucker explained

Danny sighed. It seemed his friend had Vlad's situation under control. But there was still Problem 2.

"Okay. So if Vlad tries anything, we can just say that when I was born…some scientists snuck in and made me do an 'early donation'. Stop laughing!"

His friends and sister were laughing at his choice of words

"We know what you meant Danny, but it sounds ridiculous" Jazz said

"Well, so does a lot of stuff adults are doing these days. But Mom and Dad won't fall for it"

"That's going to be your biggest risk Danny" Jazz said. "The only way to get Mom and Dad to help out with this is to tell them Dani's story and that would mean telling them about Phantom."

"It's like this Danny" Sam said. "Are you willing to sacrifice your secret for Danielle?"


	5. The Plan

**Chapter 5: The Plan**

When Dani woke up a few hours later, feeling MUCH better, she found herself in Danny's bed. She sighed. What was Danny thinking of her? Did he figure it was just the fever talking?

But then again…she didn't think it WAS the fever talking. The fever just made her said it out loud.

Danny WAS certainly more of a father than Vlad could ever be

"Did you get it?" Tucker's voice came on the other side of the door

"Yeah." Danny's voice came (actually sounding like he was smiling). "And all it cost me was a Specter Deflector and an autograph"

"So basically you two exchanged autographs" Sam's voice figured

"Yes. And I told him that I had an environmentalist friend who has some ideas. But when I gave him you're name, he seemed to already know about you" Danny said. "Apparently the last one warned him"

"So how'd you manage to talk him into this?" Jazz asked

"Simple. I tried the truth. Ironic how my parents are oblivious to the fact I'm Danny Phantom, but the President of the Untied States knows that I was involved in a lab accident because I was stupidly messing around with my parents' stuff and my arch foe is an evil nut-case who cloned me and then threw away the one working clone because she was a 'mess up.' I told the president what her creator tried to do to her and he declared that as she's a living, breathing being, she is considered a person and almost declared that he should be arrested for attempted murder. But in the spirit of Christmas, I asked him to just deny custody of Danielle to my arch foe and then if Plasmius tries anything, I can make other halfa's life miserable."

"And the Guys in White are okay with this?" Sam asked

"I told them that the Fentons can keep a close eye on her" Danny explained. "But they think it's to keep her out of trouble. I'm thinking more, in case she de-stabilizes again. But Agent A, under the president's orders, knows about me and as long as I stay out of trouble, they'll leave me alone. I THINK it has something to do with him listening to me listing my powers to the president and once he heard about my wail...I was a fast ally."

"I almost WANT Vlad to try something" Tucker laughed

"Yeah. Just make sure the judge and jury are wearing Specter Deflectors." Danny added before sighing. "I hope she likes this"

"She'll LOVE it" Jazz said "Want me to wrap it for you?"

"Sure" Danny said. "But don't until Mom and Dad do what they need to do. So in the meantime, hide them."

There was the sound of papers being handed over and a door closing

Dani then opened the door and saw the original Team Phantom Trio standing in the hall. Danny was in ghost form for some reason

He then turned a bit and did a double take when he saw that Dani was up.

"Dani!" he exclaimed as he ran up to her and knelt down in front of her. "Feeling better?"

His two friends held in bursts of laughter as Danny felt Dani's forehead. Seeing a 15 year old with the Fenton Paternal Instinct active was not a sight seen everyday... yet.

"I'm feeling better" she confirmed "Thanks for taking me in for these past few hours"

"You are staying. At least for Christmas" Danny informed her

"I'd hate to impose."

"Nonsense" Danny said "If Vlad comes over, I'm going to need SOMEONE to help me torture him"

Dani smiled at the prospect of torturing Vlad

"Okay." She said with a smile before "ACHOO!"

"Besides," Danny added. "I want that cold gone before you go"

"How DID you get so sick?" Sam asked

"A kid was drowning and I dove in to save him. To keep my butt safe, I went in as human" Dani explained "Plus flying around in blizzards didn't help"

"Well, I gotta get home" Tucker said. "My family's preparing to go caroling."

"Remember Tucker…" Sam said as if giving last minute instructions

"MOUTH THE WORDS!" Danny, Sam, and Jazz from her room chorused

"You three have no taste for good music" Tucker stated before starting to practice at the top of his lungs "SILENT NIGHT! HOLY NIGHT! ALLLL…."

Everyone covered their ears and Danny had gone as far as to transform and place his hands over Danielle's to help block out the screeching

"I WISH IT WOULD BE A SILENT NIGHT!" Sam yelled over Tucker's 'singing'

"Where's Desiree when you need her?" Danny asked

Just then the front door burst open and Jack and Maddie came running up, ectoguns blazing causing Dani to run behind Danny and hide and Jazz to come running out of her room. Luckily, the reaction caused Tucker to stop singing

"Where's the ghost?" Maddie demanded

"We could hear it's wailing from down the street" Jack added

"No ghost Dad" Danny said trying and failing not to laugh as Jazz and Sam were propping themselves on the wall laughing so hard they were having trouble breathing while Tucker was glaring daggers. "Just Tucker singing"

"Oh" Jack said disappointedly

"Danny? Who's this?" Maddie asked gently as she noticed Danielle

Before Danny could answer, Danielle coughed due to the cold

"You poor thing!" Maddie exclaimed, motherly instinct being swung into full gear. She placed a hand over the young girl's forehead. "You have a slight fever. Who are your parents and we'll give them a call?"

"Actually Mom…funny story about that" Danny said. "How about we put Danielle down for another nap to get this cold gone and I'll explain everything to you"

Danny then winked at Dani to tell her not to fret.

0000

Once Dani was down,

"Danny?" Maddie asked as the Fentons were in the living room talking. Sam and Tucker had already left with instructions to call if things go wrong "Did you say that her name was Danielle?"

"Yes Mom. Her story is actually rather complicated so in order to explain it fully, I need to go to a time BEFORE she was around." Danny explained as he produced a D.V.D. he had grabbed from his room.

"What's this?" Maddie asked as the disc was handed to her.

"The security footage from the day of the accident" Danny informed her. "You can watch it for more details, but I'll explain the gist. I went in, turned it on, and got zapped"

"You already told us that." Jack stated. "You managed to get out before the zap was powerful enough to kill you"

"I lied" Danny said simply. "I…I've been lying to you guys for over a year now"

"Danny. If you didn't get out in time, then you should be dead" Maddie said going over to her son and checking his pulse and temperature

"The ectoplasm from the portal did SOMETHING to him on a molecular level" Jazz explained. "We think the electricity from the portal may have fused the ectoplasm to his D.N.A."

"You knew about this?" Maddie asked her daughter

"I saw him transform into his…alter ego when he thought he was alone" Jazz said. "'Bout gave me a heart attack."

"And you didn't figure out that those Spirit Sparklers were lasers directed at you because the councilor you made me go see was a ghost that feeds off of teen misery and figured your death would make the whole school miserable" Danny said teasingly "You weren't up to your usual standards that week Jazz"

"WHAT?" Jack exclaimed "No ghosts tries to kill MY princess! Which was it? I'll rip it apart…"

"Molecule by molecule" Danny and Jazz chorused

"Was it Phantom?" Maddie asked

"Actually Mom…Phantom's the reason I'm still alive" Jazz said

The parents blinked

PHANTOM had saved their daughter?

"Anyways," Danny said. "Back to the accident…"

He willed his hand to turn intangible and stuck it through the table

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Jack asked

"Ghost powers plus ghost hunting parents?" Danny gave the equation

"Okay" Maddie said trying to stay calm and keep a level head. "Does Phantom know of your powers?"

"And you're the genius of the house?" Jazz muttered

"Mom? What's Phantom's first name?" Danny hinted

"Dan…" the parents chorused before realization hit them at the same time causing them both to slap their foreheads

"WHY didn't I see that before?" Maddie asked

"You were blinded by prejudice" Jazz explained

"So you've been using your powers to hunt ghosts?" Jack asked stunned.

Danny nodded.

"That's my boy!" Jack said proudly slapping his son on the back

"Danny?" Maddie asked desperately. "Can you EVER forgive us for hunting you?"

"I forgave you when you started" Danny said.

"But…what was the deal with the mayor incident?" Maddie asked

"Most of the town had been overshadowed." Danny explained. "I was the one that was held hostage. Not the mayor."

"And when you shot at us?" Jack asked giving his son a look

"I thought you two were overshadowed and I was trying to knock the ghost out"

"Like Father like son" Jazz teased

Danny just glared at his sister turning his eyes neon green

"You love that phrase when we're talking to a certain Froot-Loop" Jazz pointed out

"Really?" Jack asked amused at Jazz's statement, still remembering that one time when Phantom…or his son…had that million dollar bounty on his head and overheard Danny ranting about what an embarrassment his father was.

"Yeah. My arch foe has four main goals, three of which that concerns me. He wants to kill you, Dad; marry you, Mom; and make me his evil apprentice. He also wants to buy the Packers, but he hasn't tried that recently"

"WHAT? NOBODY tries to waste Jack Fenton to get his wife and kids! I'll…"

"We know!" the three other Fentons chorused. "rip him apart molecule by molecule"

"I need a new phrase" Jack figured as Maddie pulled him back on the couch

"Don't worry Dad. We can handle him" Danny said. "in fact, you know him as the Wisconsin Ghost"

"Really? Your arch enemy is my arch enemy?"

"Plasmius is also the reason why Phantom is tied into Danielle. You see, after a while, Plasmius decided that he wasn't going to get Phantom, so he tried the next best thing… using the equipment of an innocent girl who you two know as the Red Huntress, he got most of the data needed to…well…clone me"

"Fenton blood shouldn't be cloned!" Jack declared before looking considerate. "Though that would be pretty cool"

"He made five clones altogether" Danny explained. "One prime, four experiments. Of the four experiments, only one wasn't mindless. And of the five total, ONE survived"

"So…Danielle's you're clone" Maddie figured

Danny nodded

"When Plasmius tried to get her to do something that the last clone that did melted, she hesitated. He told her that she existed to serve him and…well…she IS biologically a Fenton"

"That must not have ended well" Maddie laughed at the state they must have left Plasmius in

"Not for Plasmius. But Dani flew off dramatically to roam the world. Three months later she returned very weak and near melting. Luckily, that was about the time you two created that flawed ecto-dejecto. Well, Plasmius managed to kidnap her and tried to melt her himself so he could figure out why she lasted as long as she did. I gave her some of the flawed ecto-dejecto and managed to save her. She flew off again and ended up in New York. That call we got this morning… Dani had saved someone earlier today from drowning and caught that cold. The caller was a cop from New York telling me that Dani was found. She must have been asked about her parents and panicked"

"So she said your name" Jack figured

"Makes SOME sense" Maddie mused looking considerate. "I mean, even though you had no physical part in the process of creating her with the exception of unknowingly providing the data needed, you DO share D.N.A. with her and not to mention the fact that you saved her, probably more than once. You're probably more of a father to her than Plasmius was"

"Well, she did call him 'Daddy' earlier" Jazz stated

"But that could have been the fever talking" Danny argued

"So…you want us to adopt her?" Jack figured

Danny opened his mouth to explain his 'present' for Danielle

Suddenly, there was a scream from upstairs. Before the full human Fentons could even direct their attention to the direction of the scream, Danny was gone.

"Now all he needs is the orange jumpsuit and the fondness for fudge" Jazz teased indicating to her mother that the father/daughter desired relationship between the two halfas was not unrequited

The other three Fentons went upstairs to Danny's room and found that Danielle was clutching onto Danny's shirt crying as if she had just had a nightmare.

Once Danny got Danielle calmed down, he closed the door after leaving the room. It was then he noticed the knowing smirks on his parents' faces

"Not a word" Danny said knowing that he had used a few tricks his father had used many years ago when he was prone to nightmares

The parents hadn't been able to hear the small jokes, but the look on Danielle's face had shown that the laughter was escaping from the sobs.

The family went back downstairs.

"So…you want us to adopt her?" Jack tried again

"Actually Dad…not that I don't trust you two, but due to certain circumstances…I DO need yours and Mom's help, but this is the plan: you see, Plasmius is like me: half-human/half-ghost. His human half might take action against this, but this is where my plan comes in. Jazz. Get the papers"


	6. Christmas

A/N: I KNOW Danny's a bit young, but there's a very good reason. I'm going to go on and put the reason on my Notes in my Profile though I said on it that I'm trying to steer clear of putting the notes there.

**Chapter 6: Christmas**

The next morning (Christmas),

Danielle woke up feeling MUCH better despite the nightmare of being rejected by the one person she wanted as a father.

"DANNY! WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" she heard Danny's Dad yell like a four year old on the other side of the door

On the floor next to her, she heard a groan. She peered over the bed and saw Danny sleeping in a sleeping bag.

"Is this payment for spending all night patrolling to see if there were any little kids who were having a rotten Christmas and if they were, changing the fact and then dropping by the annual ghost Christmas party?" he muttered

Danielle smiled and closed her eyes not really wanting to have that word with Danny about her accidentally calling him 'Daddy'

However, her eyes were brought back open when she felt a gentle hand brush aside her bangs and then gently shaking her

She looked and saw Danny trying to pry her up

"Merry Christmas" he greeted

"Be even Merrier if I could sleep in" she stated

"I hear that." Danny agreed. "But we have a LONG day ahead of us"

"The festivities?" she asked hopefully.

"In a way, but not what I meant"

She winced

Danny then slipped his hand onto her forehead.

"Fever broke" he declared with a sigh of relief and hugged her

Dani returned the hug deciding to take them while she could. It felt like all her other hugs with Danny which brought back that urge for him to be her father.

"YOU TWO COMING DOWN FOR PRESENTS OR NOT?" Jazz yelled

"IN A MINUTE!" Danny yelled back at his sister before turning to Dani. "Now, before you go downstairs, you should know that my parents know of our situation. They know I'm Phantom and that…well…you're…"

"A clone" she stated simply

"Yeah, but they don't mind. All that matters to them is that you're a Fenton by blood and that's good enough for them"

"That's good" she said

There was a moment's pause before…

"Race you downstairs Dad-nny" Dani started before catching herself

However, Danny was growing out of the clueless phase and caught the slip.

Something told Danny she was going to LOVE his present to her.

Downstairs a few seconds later,

"An ectoplasm sample!" Maddie exclaimed as she opened her gift. "Thanks Danny"

"Not just ANY sample" Danny said "Danny Phantom's"

"This makes things SO much easier" Maddie said relieved she wouldn't have to take two samples from her son. "How'd you get it? I don't think you took a needle to yourself."

"I did it" Jazz explained. "It was either me, Sam, or Tucker. Sam looked ready to use the needle for…something else and Tucker fainted as soon as Danny pulled it out."

"He fainted again when he came around and saw the needle coming towards me" Danny laughed at the memory

"Thanks Mr. Fenton" Dani said opening her gift and saw a Fenton Thermos

Danny opened his gift from his Dad and saw the same thing.

Both thermos' had the Phantom logo and five finger-print release buttons

"Maybe Tucker's going back on Thermos duty" Danny said "Thanks Dad"

A few more minutes later,

"Thanks Jazz!" Dani exclaimed at the new shirt. She ran to the bathroom and two seconds later coming out in a black hoodie with a Danny Phantom logo.

"Not a bad fit" Jazz said

"Where did you get that?" Maddie asked her daughter as she had scoped out some good stores to go take Dani shopping tomorrow.

"Long story" Jazz said.

She and Sam had made it using one of Jazz's old hoodies and Sam had designed the logo

"Have all the presents been given out?" Danny asked

"DANNY!" everyone but the confused Danielle exclaimed

"I MEANT, have all the OTHER presents been given out" Danny corrected

"There's one more?" Danielle asked

Danny gave his family a pointed look and they ran for the kitchen

Helped when he emphasized with the glowing green eyes

Danny pulled out a thin box and brought Danielle over to the couch.

"Danielle. I'm not going to lie to you" he stated. "My life is very dangerous between Skulker, Vlad, and a few other ghosts. And don't get me STARTED on the threat of Dark Dan. However, if there is one thing about us Fentons, when the people we love are in danger, that's when we fight our best. Now, ever since I got that call from Officer Knight yesterday, well…lately my eyes have been opening. So much, that I had my present to Sam planned out for two weeks. So when I got that call and I figured that it was you who told him that I was your father, I realized something."

However, Dani just looked away. Danny sighed knowing what she was feeling. She feared rejection. He knew this because technically she was him and that was one of his biggest fears.

"Dani. When you called me 'Daddy' to my face those two times…"

"It was only once and it was probably the fever"

"I caught the slip this morning too" Danny informed her causing her to wince "Well, the only way I can be happier is if Sam accepts my gift"

"Y-You don't mind?" Danielle asked turning to her original

"Open it" Danny said handing her the green box

She ripped open the wrapping paper, took off the lid and gasped

It was a stack of papers…with a presidential seal.

But no ORDINARY papers. ADOPTION papers. Approved of by the Untied States' government so Vlad couldn't do anything without fessing up to illegal cloning.

"You convinced your parents to adopt me?" Danielle asked

"Read closer" Danny said

She did and gasped. Jack and Maddie's signatures were only on the lines where the guardians of the true guardian sighed should the true guardian be under 18.

"Now, the way we figured, in PUBLIC, you'd treat my parents as your foster parents. However, legally, I'm your guardian."

Danielle tossed the papers onto the coffee table and wrapped her arms around Danny and cried with relief

"I thought you didn't feel the same way" she explained.

"I also got some ghost copies saying that Dani Phantom is now the daughter of Danny Phantom" Danny added. "Gotta love that Christmas truce"

She tightened her grip.

"Can I go tell Valerie?" Danielle asked

Danny checked his watch

"Actually, I needed to go over and drop off a couple of gifts there, so sure"

Danny turned and saw that his family had been watching quietly.

The two halfas stood up and turned into their ghost halves.

"We'll be back later" Danny told his parents as Dani flew over and hugged Jack and Maddie

00000

A few minutes later,

Valerie Grey and her Dad were in their rundown apartment exchanging gifts.

Suddenly, there was a tap on the window. The Greys turned and gasped at the sight of the two Phantoms

"Since when are there TWO Phantoms?" Damon asked as Valerie opened the window

"Hi Danielle" she greeted the younger halfa before turning to the older one "What do YOU want?"

"Merry Christmas to you too" Danny said. "I'm here to play Santa and Danielle has some news she wants to share."

"Come on in" Damon said as if he was all for the spirit of Christmas

"Thank you Mr. Grey" Danny said.

"I just have a question." Damon asked as he played some security footage.

Danny winced as he watched himself destroy Valerie's old armor. Luckily, Tucker had said that the footage catches sound so…

Danny simply rewound, turned up the volume on the T.V. and played it over

"_Valerie's not in there, so I don't have to hold back" _the Danny on the T.V. said

"Oh." Valerie said realizing that she had missed that little important factor.

"A lot of misunderstandings have happened between us three, and I wish to clear them up. That was NOT my dog. I was trying to get it into the ghost zone only to cross off Dog-Catcher on my What-I-Wanna-Do list" Danny explained.

Danny then pulled out a letter and handed it to Damon. Damon took it and gasped

"A…government grant to work on a new security system for the Capitol?"

"And you can work on it here since Axion will be supplying you, by order of the President himself. And when you're done, you can go to Washington, hopefully in the summer, so that your daughter here can get a very much needed vacation. And the Fentons can help you with the Anti-Ghost stuff."

"Thank you Phantom" Damon said "But how did you swing this?"

"Turns out the President's a fan and I recommended you." Danny told him before turning to Valerie. "The down payment should be enough to get you out of this place and back in the A-list"

"I had you all wrong Phantom" Valerie said upon seeing that the grant and the order were genuine.

Danny then handed her a small box

"Merry Christmas" he said

She opened it and saw a Flashdrive.

"What's this?" she asked

"Remember our last meeting?" he asked motioning to Danielle who was watching with a smile "You said that you wanted answers. That Flashdrive holds all my ghost files so you can have a decent idea of which to stay FAR from and which ones are so simple I don't even have to go ghost to fight them."

"Like which?" Damon asked

"The box ghost" Danny and Valerie both answered

"What about Plasmius?" Valerie asked

"He is on there" Danny confirmed having gone back and deleting all indications that Masters is Plasmius so not to upset her

"Perfect" she said before getting an idea. "One more thing Phantom"

Both Damon and Danny sighed

"Dani's part human." Valerie stated "And after our separation last time, I went back to check on our mayor and I saw that he's part ghost"

"he is?" Damon asked

"You wouldn't happen to be a hybrid yourself would you?" Valerie asked

Danny sighed and nodded

"But you're a smart girl Valerie." Danny told her. "I'll let YOU figure out who my human half is."

"I'll accept your challenge" Valerie said holding out her hand in a truce-like manner.

Danny shook it

"No more hunting you" she promised much to Damon's relief. She then turned to Dani. "So what's this big news?"

"I've been adopted!" Dani announced "And it was approved by the president"

"That's great!" Valerie exclaimed "You deserve it. Who's the new family?"

Dani simply smiled and wrapped her arms around Danny

"Well," Valerie said looking a little stunned, but not too surprised. "I shouldn't be too surprised with how protective you are of her. Congratulations you two"

"Thanks." Dani said

"This never would have happened if it wasn't for you helping me save her." Danny added. "So, thanks for everything Valerie….well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a couple of more presents"

"We'll see you around" Damon said

The two Phantoms vanished

0000

A few minutes later,

Sam was having a not-so-great Hanukkah. Her parents' choice of gifts were not her favorite and Danny and Dani had dropped by and asked for the Class ring back before announcing that they were going over to Valerie's

"Sammie!" Pamela Manson said knocking on the door "That Fenton boy is here to see you"

"Send him in" Sam said hoping to get a better story of Dani's reaction to the adoption papers

Only hint as to the story was that the ghost girl looked as if she had been on Cloud Nine.

A few seconds later, Danny walked in

"You look like you're having MY Christmas last year before the rhyming."

"You know Danny," she said deciding to tease him a bit. "You have horrible timing"

She giggled at the eye-twitch

"You so said that on purpose" he figured

"Yeah" she agreed pointing to the pile of pink

"Oh" Danny said realizing that she did not get what she wanted "You know, you never did tell me what you wanted for Christmas"

_That's because all I want for Christmas is you_ she said in her head

"I didn't really want anything special" she lied "So…how'd it go at Valerie's?"

"I left her one happy ghost hunter. She congratulated me and Dani for the adoption and she knows I'm part ghost…but she doesn't know that Fenton's Phantom. And when I was in Washington getting the papers, I recommended Mr. Grey to design a new security system for the Capitol, but he can do the BIG work here so they don't have to move"

Sam smiled at Danny's big heart. It was one of the things she loved about him.

"And Dani's reaction?"

"Happiest I've ever seen her. She actually looked relieved" Danny said "Now, do you want your present or not?"

"Okay. Hand it over Fenton" she said

"You have to close your eyes" he told her

Her eyebrows rose but, hand still out expectantly, she obeyed

She felt a pair of lips touch hers and a strong, yet gently pair of hands touch her cheeks to keep her in place.

Not that she needed any help staying in the position she was in Heaven at this moment

When they came up for air,

"Wow" they both said

"But…what about Valerie?" she asked

"Just a friend and a fling. Nothing special there." Danny said "But you know me better than anyone else. I-I knew my feelings went beyond friendship for a while, it just took me a while to figure it out"

"What opened your eyes?"

"In all honesty, when I saw you kiss Gregor. Remember when we first met Ember and you broke that spell by kissing Dash?"

"Don't remind me" she said making a face of disgust

"Remember what I said I felt like?"

"That your heart had been ripped out. I still feel bad about doing it to you, but you weren't snapping out of it and I felt as if there was no other way"

"I understand why you did it Sam. And I don't blame you." Danny told her. "But…I don't know if it's the fact that I knew you hated Dash or that the spell was there to buffer the pain…but when I saw you kiss Gregor… not only was my heart ripped out, but it was stomped on by a cleat and put through a grinder. My world was shattered and I was willing to give Skulker my pelt"

"Ouch" she said glad she hadn't witnessed any kissing between Valerie and Danny.

"I stayed up all that night thinking and I realized I liked you more than a friend. I wasn't thinking straight so I figured if I hinted that I saw you, you might catch the hint. Boy was I wrong"

"Well, that's all behind us" she said with a smile "Gregor's dead, Elliot's gone, Danielle is safe because her new Dad is super protective of all those he cares for, and now we don't have to deny we're lovebirds"

Danny smiled catching the hint as he kissed her again.

"Should we tell Tucker?" Danny asked

"Let him figure it out" Sam said


	7. A New Normal?

A/N: I realized I might have created a bit of confusion with the whole Gregor's death. GREGOR is the Hungarian Ultra-Recyclo Vegitarian Goth Sam liked. Elliot is a boy from Michigan who has a REALLY fast rebound. Gregor died the minute Elliot realized the jig was up and Sam and Tucker knew he was faking.

**Chapter 7: A New Normal?**

A few weeks later,

It was the start of a new year and the schools were back in session. Due to all the needed paperwork to enroll her in a public school, Danielle was being home schooled by her 'grandparents' while her 'aunt' and 'father' were at the public school

"So," Tucker asked Danny as the trio stood by their lockers. "How's Danielle taking to family life?"

"She's loving it" Danny said. "Of course she's missing the freedom she had before, but she's enjoying not having to live like a street urchin."

"Has Vlad tried anything yet?" Sam asked wondering if her boyfriend had just neglected to mention

"Not yet" Danny said. "You know, I've been half tempted to dress her up like me and see what Vlad does"

"He'd say you were corrupting that sweet little girl" Sam said

"Hi guys"

Everyone turned

"Hi Valerie" the trio greeted as if they were the best of the friends

"Wow Sam" Valerie said impressed. "No hostility this time. You're coming around"

"I have my moments" Sam said slipping her hand into Danny's

Tucker didn't catch the hint but Valerie did

"You're not going to go to the A-list group?" Danny asked

"I considered it, but then I thought back and I realized what big of snobs they were. It was then I realized that you did me a favor so…thanks. By the way, Dad's having a BLAST designing that new system. He's even been asking me for my input"

"You figured it out, didn't you?" Danny asked

"Yeah. When I saw your Mom shopping with Dani's human half, the pieces fell into place. Sorry for this past year"

"Kept me on my toes" Danny said with a shrug

"Did I miss something?" Tucker asked

"I know you three hunt ghosts because he's Danny Phantom" Valerie told Tucker "And I'm now okay with it."

Just then, the warning bell rang.

"Tell Dani I said hi" Valerie said to Danny

"You told her?" Tucker asked

"I hinted and she put two and two together" Danny explained

Later at lunch,

While Danny was out dealing with Technus with Valerie's help, Sam and Tucker were taking a break from helping Danny.

"Sam?" Tucker said noticing something. "When Danny asked you to hold onto the ring, I don't think he meant for you to WEAR it"

Before Sam could answer, Danny came in and joined them.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked Danny

"Pretty good. Val wasn't too happy with Technus for taking over her old armor causing me to destroy it. Made me glad she's on our side now so I didn't use a lot of energy"

With that, they shared a quick kiss causing Tucker's jaw to drop

"Tucker. Close your mouth" Sam said making a face as Tucker had been in the process of chewing

Danny turned invisible (good thing geeks were naturally invisible), and overshadowed Tucker making him finish chewing and swallowed

"Thank you" Sam said when Danny released Tucker

"Did you two just kiss?" Tucker asked finding his voice

"Yeah" Danny confirmed.

"YES! NOW I DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH YOUR DENIAL! I always knew you two would get together" Tucker exclaimed before jumping on the table and break dancing

"Why are we friends with him?" Sam asked

"He's good with computers, we've known each other since forever, and… he's comic relief for our ghost hunting job?" he suggested reasons to keep Tucker around

0000

After school,

Danny and Jazz got home, Jazz $50 richer as she had collected her winnings from the pool on Danny and Sam

"My own sister" Danny sighed as he got out of the car and went inside "MOM! DAD! DANI!"

It was quiet. Too quiet

"MOM! DAD! DANI!" Danny called again a bit more frantic

He got to the lab and saw the Speeder gone

"Where did they go?" Jazz asked

"Time to go to the tapes" Danny said turning into Phantom and flying his sister up to the Op center.

A few seconds later, brother and sister were watching horrified as they saw Plasmius kidnap both Danny's mother and daughter and Jack going after them in the Speeder.

Luckily, one of the newest installments of the Op Center was a Fenton tracker using GPS satellites to track anyone, ghost/human/hybrid.

"Danny. Let's get the government involved" Jazz said "If we can get Vlad captured, then she won't be able to bother us again."

"Jazz. He could be MELTING her!" Danny argued as he punched in the coordinates as Vlad was currently in his hideout in Colorado "There's no time!"

"Then we'll call on our way" Jazz said pulling out her cell phone and dialed the number. "Agent A?...Jasmine Fenton… Danielle was kidnapped by Plasmius as was our mother… we already have the coordinates so if you could meet us at 39 degrees North and 107 degrees West"


	8. Revelations

A/N: In case you haven't figured it out, the GIW, due to Danny's alliance with the president, are on Danny's side under the condition that Danny behaves himself. Only Agent A knew that Fenton was Phantom being head of the GIW.

**Chapter 8: Revelations **

A few minutes later in the underground lab,

"STOP IT!" the real Maddie exclaimed still disgusted of the holographic her while Plasmius tortured her foster granddaughter.

Dani, in Phantom form, was strapped to a vertical table while a large voltage of electricity was coursing through her body. Maddie and Jack were in cages (separated) unable to do anything other than watch

"Not until I find out why she lasted longer than the others" Vlad stated in Plasmius form.

"You'll never get away with this" Jack declared

"And who's going to stop me?" Plasmius asked

Suddenly the lab shook and the power was cut off

"You were saying?" Dani asked weakly as the electricity that was being used to destabilize her (and was failing) was stopped

"Power up the backup generator"

"Yes Cupcake" the Holo-Maddie said

"Excuse me while I barf" Maddie muttered under her breath

Just then there was another explosion. This one caused a hole in the ceiling letting in sunlight.

"What the heck?" Plasmius asked

26 men in white suits wearing sunglasses and wielding ecto-guns jumped in followed by Jazz holding a Specter Deflector and Danny Phantom who was looking pretty dangerous.

"Looks like someone brought in the cavalry" Plasmius teased

"Let them go Plasmius" Danny demanded through gritted teeth

"And who's going to make me?" Plasmius asked as he duplicated himself

Just then chaos ensued as most of the Guys in White and Danny went to deal with the Plasmius. Agent A went to go free Jack and Jazz freed Maddie

"AAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Dani screamed as the torture was turned back on

"DANIELLE!" Danny exclaimed

Maddie, upon being free, turned off the hologram and then the torture machine.

Only the hologram turned off.

"HA! At full power that machine CAN'T be turned off!" Vlad said

"Oh no" Jazz gasped

Even though she was scared for the health and wellbeing of her foster niece, what really scared her was what Danny was capable of.

Last time he lost someone dear to him, he turned evil. And she was NOT in a hurry to see Dark Dan again. Even though Danny promised, there were some promises that no matter how hard they were tried to be kept, they had to be broken.

She was REALLY scared when he let out his ghostly wail without giving any warning like he usually did. Luckily, all she needed was his deep breath having seen him use it before.

But the poor Guys in White and adult Fentons didn't have that warning. Luckily, they were out of range.

When the wail ended, leading to the destruction of the machines and the Maddie Program being reactivated and telling Vlad that she always loved the Jack Program, Vlad fell to the floor and transformed causing 28 mouths to drop.

"Vlad Masters?" Maddie exclaimed as Jazz put the deflector on Vlad and then turned to her brother

With the torture machine turned off, freeing Dani was easier even if she was unconscious

"Dani! Wake up!" Danny said frantically as he held the girl

Danielle turned back into her human form and opened her eyes

"Daddy?" she asked

"I'm here" Danny confirmed

A smile formed on her face as she hugged him.

"I KNEW you'd come rescue me" she said gripping his hazmat suit tightly

Jazz smiled at her brother and his adopted daughter. Suddenly, she heard a sniff behind her. She turned and saw Agents A and B carting off Vlad and Jack and Maddie talking to L and Q. The others were confiscating the machinery expect for O and K who were…

Bawling their eyes out

"That's so beautiful!" O declared as K blew his nose

Jazz rolled her eyes though she had to agree with them.

"TIME OUT!"

Suddenly Jazz noticed that everyone seemed to be frozen in place and a medallion in the shape of a cog with a CW on it was around her neck. She looked around and smiled at the sight of a familiar ghost.

"Hi Clockwork" she greeted before realizing something. "Shouldn't you be talking to Danny?"

"It's better if his worrisome sister got this news" Clockwork explained as he aged from an old man to a child as he produced a destroyed thermos

"HE escaped!" she asked frantically

"No Jasmine." Clockwork explained. "Dark Dan ceased to exist the minute Vlad was revealed and caught for two reasons."

"Let me guess. One reason is because since Dark Dan is half Plasmius, without Vlad in the picture, Danny won't merge and Plasmius was the reason Dark Dan was evil"

"Correct. And the second?"

Jazz bit her lip and looked at her brother who was frozen in time crying with relief as he held his foster daughter

"Dark Danny was afraid to Love but my Danny's whole life is centered around that emotion" she hypothesized.

"You ARE the smart one" Clockwork said with a smile as he aged to a middle age ghost

"Clockwork?" Jazz asked. "What are the chances of a Dark Dani?"

Clockwork chuckled.

"VERY slim now" Clockwork said

"Wait a minute!" Jazz figured. "There WAS a Dark Dani, wasn't there? Living on the streets made her turn to a life of crime. And living away from the only person who ever loved her turned her evil and as Danny's clone, she's just as powerful as him! YOU gave me the idea for Danny to adopt her to get her off the streets, didn't you? That way, not ONLY will she be in a kind and nurturing environment, but Danny would rather be Vlad's apprentice than see Dani turn evil so he would be able to help her with her powers and prevent her from making any mistakes that might turn HER evil!"

"Didn't do Daniel any harm either don't you agree?" Clockwork asked not denying her accusation

Jazz turned back to her brother and 'niece.' Danielle looked safe and happy in Danny's arms

Jazz then thought of how Danny would have reacted if Danielle had turned evil. He would have CERTAINLY blamed himself

"It's best you don't tell them" Clockwork warned "Danielle is definitely Daniel's clone and you know how Daniel gets whenever he's thinking of his evil self. And Danielle's already semi-encountered Dark Dani"

"She has?" Jazz asked

"Right now, she's just a small voice in the girl's head, but like how Dark Dan is for Daniel. But Daniel has a strong enough grip on his now that he's responsible for another life, we don't have to worry."

"So…what was making Dani scared to confront Danny about calling him 'Daddy' was Dark Dani trying to keep Dani away from Danny?" Jazz asked before realizing how weird that sounded

Luckily Mr. I-Know-Everything knew what she meant

"You'll make a great psychiatrist one day, Jasmine" Clockwork said "TIME IN!"

He vanished and time continued

Jazz walked up to her brother and his daughter.

"Let's go home" she suggested

"Good idea" Maddie agreed as she joined her family

"I'll drive!" Jack said

"What about the Speeder?" Danny asked a bit scared to let his daughter get on a plane that his father was flying

"It was destroyed by some ghost monster" Jack said "Luckily when I ejected, I flew into Vlad's portal"

Danny looked at Dani who didn't seem to want to let go of him just yet.

"Okay" Danny said as he stood up and picked her up

"She okay?" Agent A asked the ghost boy knowing Danny's secret

"Yeah, but when we get home, I'm going to have Mom look her over"

"Good idea" Maddie said


	9. A Happy Family

**Chapter 9: A Happy Family**

Maddie had taken the wheel from Jack as it was the first time Jack was flying the Fenton Jet and was having a bit too much fun. Maddie had declared that flying loops was not a good idea when there was a girl in the jet who had been nearly tortured to death.

"We also need to do something about the mayor of Amity Park as Mr. Mayor is now in governmental custody" Jazz said

"I could run" Jack stated excitedly

Four faces paled at the mere THOUGHT of Jack as mayor and the possibilities.

"Jack, we have ENOUGH to worry about being the professional ghost hunters in town as well as the parents and the suppliers for Danny Phantom and now Dani Phantom once she recovers." Maddie argued

"Good point" Jack agreed

"whew" the three Fenton kids sighed quietly with relief

Jazz turned to her brother who was still holding Danielle who looked as if she didn't want to be anywhere else but where she was.

Jazz smiled as she realized something. Technically, Danielle was only 7 months though she looked older. The girl was at a very vital stage in her life. Her turning evil if living on the streets was actually not that much of a surprise, but that was not going to happen.

If there was ONE thing a child needed, it was a loving, nurturing family. True Danielle didn't have a mother, but she had a 'grandmother,' an 'aunt,' a female family friend in Valerie, and her 'father's' girlfriend. Plus there was Tucker, a 'grandfather' and finally, the most important figure in Danielle's life: a highly overprotective father.

All of which were ready to spoil and nurture her till Kingdom Come

Jazz watched as Danielle seemed deep in thought

With Danielle

_You put your family in danger. This is what will happen if you allow yourself to get too attached. Danny could have been killed_

_Actually, Vlad was the one who could have been killed. Didn't you see how protective Danny was? I've never seen him like that_

_Scary? What if you do something to anger him like that?_

Back with Jazz,

Something in Danielle's eyes told Jazz that Dark Dani was still trying to get through. She was about to say something to bury Dark Dani, but Jazz didn't know if Danny saw it too or if it was the paternal instinct.

Whatever it was, it caused Danny to tighten his grip on Danielle, gently rub her back, and kiss the top of her head

"I love you and nothing will change that" Danny whispered to her just quiet enough to be caught by Jazz who was sitting next to him "Vlad's always been after Mom and Dad, but now he's gone. And if he escapes, we'll be ready"

Jazz smile when a familiar spark formed in Danielle's eyes. Of course, she had never seen it in the girl's eyes, but she's seen it in Danny's. Danny also noticed the spark and smiled as he had seen it in the girl's eyes before.

It was as if a large burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

With Danielle,

_Ha! He loves me and he doesn't blame me! He DOES want me, so shut up and stop trying to convince me otherwise!_

_He's just sayin…_

_I said SHUT UP!_

0000

In the ghost zone,

Clockwork smiled as another alternative timeline ceased to exist. The vanished time line had held an evil Dani Phantom destroying Danny Phantom

That timeline changed into Dani kicking ghost butt with her family that included her foster father, her foster mother Sam Manson-Fenton, and her foster brother D.J.

In that timeline, Danielle, though her original was now in his 30's, looked in her 20's as she had not been able to age for a while until Maddie and Danny had found a way to activate the girl's growth hormones (which apparently she had been lacking).

She was also dating a human boy who had moved from New York.

"You manipulated the time stream again Clockwork" an Observant said annoyed.

"In other words" a second added

"YOU CHEATED!" they chorused giving Clockwork a different kind of déjà vu sense

"True, but as I have not met Danielle in person, the choice was all hers" Clockwork said with a chuckle as he re-watched the birth of D.J. Fenton where Dani had been present to take her 'father's' place as Danny was a BIT preoccupied with a ghost who had been too close to the hospital for comfort and it wasn't an easy ghost so he was unable to be there to protest the name Daniel Fenton Jr.

He changed the scene back to Team Phantom kicking ghost butt, but ended the scene when Dani was about to go off on a date with her boyfriend.

"_She is so your clone" Older Sam laughed_

"_Why do you say that?" Older Danny said_

"_You are so going back to your clueless act." Tucker laughed "She's dating a goth boy named Sam" _

"_I have to admit though" Sam said. "She has good taste" _

"_You WOULD say that" Danny said rolling his eyes_

Clockwork chuckled. Life for the Fentons/Phantoms were going good. Daniel got the motivation he needed to be more responsible, Danielle got the family she needed to stay on the right path, and Vlad got what was coming to him for opening Paraiah Dark's sarcophagus.

He changed the screen again to reveal a week after the rescue.

0000

At the Fentons at the time of what Clockwork was watching,

"I'M HOME!" Danny called

Suddenly he was tackled by his new daughter in ghost form just barely missing the declaration of 'Daddy'

"You're doing MUCH better" he laughed as he returned the hug

"I'm FEELING much butter" Dani stated "I don't know. Since the last time I flew off dramatically, this voice in my head kept trying to degrade me saying I was nothing but a clone and I wasn't loved and I would never be normal, but after you rescued me from Vlad, I told that voice to shut up and it did! I've been sleeping better and my energy's returned"

"Well, I'm glad you told that voice to shut up" Danny said. "Because you are NOT just a clone and you ARE loved"

"But I'll never be normal?" she asked

"Neither will I." Danny said. "And I now accept that"

"HEY! DANIELLE!" Jack called from the lab. "GET DOWN HERE!"

"COMING JACK!" she called as she flew down

Danny smiled before a look of realization came to him. He remembered hearing a voice JUST like the one she described. And after his incident with his meeting Clockwork, he had been able to place the voice as Dark Dan.

Danielle had her own Dark side. And if it wasn't for Officer Knight's call…

How HAD the officer gotten his home phone number? Danielle had JUST learned it.

"Clockwork" Danny realized sounding annoyed but the smile on his face and the look in his eyes showed gratitude towards the ghost mention

0000

Back at Clockwork's,

"You're welcome"

The End


End file.
